Panaji: Goa crossed the 50-inch rainfall mark on Tuesday, recording about 1,270mm of cumulative rainfall since the onset of the southwest monsoon on June 1. In comparison, the state had reached the same milestone much earlier last year, within 40 days of the monsoon’s onset. This year, it took 58 days.Despite reaching the milestone, the state continues to face rainfall deficit of 32% below the climatological average, compared to the Indian subcontinent’s overall deficit of only 16%.Meteorologist and former chief scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), M R Ramesh Kumar, said Goa has so far received only 637.6mm of rainfall against the climatological mean of 1,119mm for the corresponding period.“Monsoon in July progressed in three distinct phases. Between July 1 and 8, the state received 292.6mm of rainfall. This was followed by a prolonged weak phase from July 9 to 16, during which only 23.7mm of rain was recorded due to break monsoon conditions. Rainfall picked up significantly from July 17 to 27, with the state receiving 321.3mm during the period,” he said.“With four days remaining, the peak monsoon month of July is really falling short,” he said.June had also ended well below average, recording 632.2mm of rainfall against the normal of 909mm.Goa experienced eight non-rainy days in June. In July, there were four consecutive non-rainy days from July 11 to July 14, during which the state received only 2.7mm of rainfall in total. The highest single-day rainfall was recorded on June 22, when the state received 89.5mm, followed closely by 88.1mm on June 29. In comparison, the highest single-day rainfall recorded in July so far, was 58.2mm on July 26.The IMD has extended its yellow alert over Goa till July 31 warning of heavy rainfall with gusty winds likely at a few places over the state.
